


Pecking Order

by XDTAthens



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Based off of my own personal headcanons, Bash Brothers, F/M, Found Family, Krieg Backstory, Mutual Pining, Salvador and Krieg are basically brothers, Self-Loathing, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-07 00:33:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18862129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XDTAthens/pseuds/XDTAthens
Summary: There was a universal truth that Krieg found helped keep him grounded.Everything had a pecking order. Every life had a value.Nobody wanted to admit it, but it was plain as day. All of the Vault Hunters were ranked most to least important.And Krieg was dead last, pining after the impossibly perfect Siren at the top.Leaving is the hardest step of letting go, but it seems as though Krieg is the only one who is good at it.When the Children of the Vault show up and the Crimson Raiders try to get their numbers back up for a head-count, there is one crucial piece missing. The Psycho. Nobody knows where in the everloving fuck the man has run off to, but they're determined to find him before it is too late. Meanwhile, Salvador seems strangely quiet and guilty, almost avoiding the other Vault Hunters. What does he know?





	1. Prologue

Ever since he had been a young boy, rank and position had meant everything for Krieg. Themiscyra, a planet that was named after the fictional Greek island of mighty Amazonian warriors, had turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. The first settlers on the planet had been women, the bravest explorers, most creative innovators, smartest scientists, and mightiest warriors of Themiscyra had all been women, and in the years following the Corporate Wars, it became one of the very few planets to still have a unified government. Themiscyra was strong and the queen took care of her citizens.

There was still, of course, a pecking order, and even though all the royals were supposed to be treated equally, he knew firmly where he stood as the youngest child of the Queen and only male. He was dead last in succession. It did not bother him one bit.

If anything, he felt bad for his sisters. While they were stuck playing dress up and learning how to rule, he was training with his father to eventually enlist in the planet’s defense force.

Yes. Pecking orders were in place for a reason, as cruel as they may be. So that should the worst come to pass, there would not be chaos.

There were 25 different female family members to keep him from the throne; 3 aunts, 16 cousins, and 6 sisters. Then when he grew older, the number nearly doubled as his sisters and cousins had daughters.

Yes, there was no doubt that the Amos clan was strong, and he was content to serve as a foot soldier.

So why had it ended up like this? A horrible misunderstanding, a short-lived war, and suddenly his entire family was destroyed. The pecking order fell to him. Within 3 years the kingdom went through 50 queens, and in-between his grief-filled rampages against the enemy, he saw the increasingly worried glances. His comrades were no longer looking at him like a soldier, but as a prince. He couldn’t stand to stay and watch his nation crumble. Many years later the Amos clan would be memorialized in a gruesomely designed mausoleum dedicated to the 50 queens who perished.

So what became of him?

______________________________________

Krieg was not his name. That much he knew. But what his real name was, was anybody’s guess. Something about this setup though was familiar to him, and subconsciously he had already set a pecking order for the Vault Hunters, himself included.

The siren was at the top. That was non-negotiable. She was their leader, somehow managing to bring together 5 wildly different personalities and galvanize them into a team. Gaige was next. Really, she was just a child in everyone else’s eyes, but more than that she was a genius engineer and inventor; the more time she spent with Scooter and Ellie, the more apparent it became that Sanctuary would need her expertise.

Next was Zer0. Krieg had nearly nothing on the assassin - and that was how it was supposed to be. No information, nothing. Perhaps back when Krieg was a bounty hunter he would have recognized the assassin, but no. Nothing. They were as mysterious as they were efficient and deadly. Their sheer skill in espionage, deception, and strategy made them Maya’s right hand and, though they were the most capable on the team, they were still a priority.

So where did that leave the soldier and the berzerker? 

Salvador almost did Krieg’s job better than him. The two were the shock troopers, sent in to wipe the floor and cause mass carnage. Salvador didn’t have the emotional hang-ups that Krieg did, and despite Salvador’s obvious instability, he was far more collected than Krieg. On top of that, Salvador could have been considered a non-combatant (except for the fact, that, well, he wasn’t) and the only real citizen of Pandora out of all of them. He knew the topography, all the deadly animals and plants, and his knowledge had saved them from quite a few sticky situations.

Axton was a soldier. As much of a glory-seeker as he was, the man had admitted that it was his job to put others before himself. Sacrifice in the name of the greater good. Something about it seemed familiar to the masked man.

And so, Krieg was dead last. Again. Not much better than a bandit, it seemed. They could always find someone like him. Hyperion had thousands of test subjects. If Krieg fell, who would notice? He bordered on being a danger and liability.

It was this attitude, this illogical logic that lead to him alienating himself from the rest.

The man did not bother sleeping in their quarters. He did not bother eating up their food. Instead he could usually be found towards the edge of town, near Scooter’s garage. Even when Sanctuary took off, he slept next to the edge.

Hunting for skags had been how he had made his meals before, and he saw no reason to change now. Occasionally the psycho would visit Dukino in Lynchwood, play with him a bit, and sit down to eat next to him. He was sure that feeding a skag the meat of other skags was, ethically speaking, horrible, but Dukino didn’t seem to mind.

Krieg only wished the others would stop asking after him. He admired them all. They were heroes to him. But he didn’t dare consider them family. He’d already lost one family. No matter how strong they were, the universe would not let him bond with another living soul. 

Even when Axton and Sal asked after him for a round of drinks at Moxxi’s, he did not budge.

Even when Gaige asked for his help in modifying Deathtrap in a not-so-subtle attempt at bonding, he did not budge.

Even when Maya’s beautiful eyes affixed to him, even when her lips pulled into a frown, even when she opened her mouth to speak to him, to plead with him. Even when she seemed to reach out for him.

He did. Not. Budge. He couldn’t. It could only lead to disaster, and he would not allow them to die.

He didn’t know how they had survived the war with Hyperion. It had been long and arduous but they did it. The Warrior fell, and for a moment all was silent. Krieg was granted the honor of finishing Jack off.

And that was it. Brick and Mordecai had arrived alive, and Salvador and Krieg had rejoiced in the survival of the giant slab of meat. The Vaults were revealed. And a whole new era was brought upon them.

Krieg refused to be around to see it.

Despite everything, he had fallen hard. At nights he would picture Maya’s face, and he knew he had to leave.  
Some time after Roland’s memorial service, the man had started to pack what little possessions he had, including a winter coat. He was returning to Themyscira.

“So that’s it, amigo? ¿Ya te vas?” The voice behind him had retained its gruffness. Salvador always sounded like he had smoked 50 packs a day, and Krieg wasn’t sure if that was an exaggeration. But this time he was uncharacteristically gentle. Krieg and Sal were bash brothers. Perhaps they understood each other better than anyone on the team. It was ironic that the two most aggressive Vaulters happened to be the most gentle.

Krieg turned to his friend. Salvador hardly ever wore more than his normal duds, but he had traded jeans and a t-shirt for a comfortable leather jacket and some slacks.

Krieg had rid himself of the harnesses and straps and gauntlets that were a constant on him. Zed had helped the psycho wean off of Eridium and slag, and so the apparatus that constantly pumped slag through his veins was no longer needed. Only the gas mask remained. Dressed in his trademark orange pants, comb in his back pocket, and an orange winter coat around his usually bare torso, the man wrapped his smaller friend in a hug.

Neither of them had seemed to expect it.

“You’ve got some nerve, cabron.” Sal’s voice shook. “She’ll miss you. We all will.” 

He didn’t need to elaborate. Krieg closed his eyes.

“Miss me, hit me again.” His coherence hadn’t quite returned yet, but he hoped the general message came through loud and clear. If anyone would understand, it would be his tiny friend.

“Where? Where are you going?” Krieg had tried to slip past him but a strong hand gripped his wrist.

Krieg snapped his head to meet the hot-headed Truxican man’s stare.

“Home. Themyscira.” 

Salvador’s eyes widened. It went without saying that it was the first time Krieg had ever opened up about anything relating to his past, and the psycho seemed to take the opportunity to wiggle out of Salvador’s grasp, grabbing one bag, his set of Torgue guns, and his buzzaxe before setting off.


	2. Dissolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya arrives on Pandora and finds new friends.
> 
> Krieg's absence strikes the Crimson Raiders in the heart and the six Vault Hunters disband.
> 
> For now.

Maya couldn’t really accurately describe the feelings that flowed through her the first time she landed on Pandora.

On Athenas, she had been a goddess. An untouchable. And it had pissed her off to no end. People couldn’t even look at her without the Order dictating it. And it went both ways. Confined to the Abbey, she was forced to train day after day. The lack of interaction with other human beings besides the creepy monks of the Abbey had left her unaware of how to approach others once she finally broke free of their control.

When she heard about Pandora, a place to learn about sirens, about women like her, she booked it.

It was like whatever she was used to, Pandora endeavored to be the complete opposite. Athenas was a planet of absolute Order, and, as much as she hated to admit it, the monks had done quite the job of making the public submit to their weapon (the weapon being her).

Pandora was a lawless, jumbled mess. No architecture. No law. It seemed that even the laws of physics and nature didn’t apply. A spike-covered, massive creature that could unhinge and split its entire fucking mouth? Yeah, no thank you. And then there were the bandits. Psychos, marauders, goliaths, nomads, all in different shapes and sizes. Seriously, some of them didn’t even come up to her knee but they still wielded deadly weapons. She had never needed to use her powers in combat before but now she found herself turning into a killer, and incredibly quick. Everyone here wanted to kill her. Nobody was afraid.

But that works both ways. She remembered the first month on Pandora, before she heard about the train for Vault Hunters. How many bodies had she stacked up? After the first few times, and after emptying the contents of her stomach, she had quickly gotten used to the carnage. And the weird knack for everyone and everything to be carrying a gun.

The trip to the Hyperion train was largely uneventful, besides a skag she killed dropping a rather nice Maliwan SMG. As she stood at the station, cleaning the spit and bile from the SMG, she heard thundering footsteps from behind her.

Dark eyes narrowed to get a glimpse of the towering man not even 50 feet away from her. If this were one of those old ECHO Sims about Cowboys and Bandits, this would be the showdown at noon. Except, well, it wasn’t noon, and the man didn’t seem to have a gun. Just a huge buzz axe. She frowned at the sight of the weapon. Was he another psycho? His distaste for shirts as well as his bloodstained gas mask seemed to lead to the conclusion that of fucking course it was another psycho, just my fucking luck.

She would have opened her mouth to speak, but the giant beat her to the punch.

“I’M THE CONDUCTOR OF THE POOP TRAIN!”

Huh. That was a new one. As she readied her SMG and started firing, she almost felt a pang of guilt. Just before the man ducked for cover, it seemed he was internally scolding himself. His shoulders drooped and he wasn’t making any attempt to fight back.

She wasn’t gonna take chances. She had shown mercy before, and it had bit her in the ass.

His nonsensical ramblings only strengthened her resolve, even as he made no attempt to hurt her.

Then it happened. 

“TURN AROUND PRETTY LADY!” The psycho stood at full height and hurled his buzzaxe right in Maya’s direction; it sped forward at such a speed that, if it HAD been aimed at the Siren, she’d probably be dead. She prepared for the end, only to hear a disturbing, bloodcurdling scream that was interrupted by the gurgle of blood… right over her shoulder. She turned to see a malnourished, masked bandit with a buzzaxe sticking out of his cranium, still somehow standing up.

Even as the psycho dashed forward, slamming himself on the Rat’s shoulders and carrying on with his bloody rampage, Maya could barely process it. In the end, she only got one thing from it.

People think I’m attractive?

News to her. She frowned and followed after her temporary ally, waiting to see if he would turn against her. He didn’t. He even seemed to thank her for saving his life, and she could only respond with a smile.

Hopefully this would be the start of a nice partnership.

_

She had never thought in a million years that the five people she met on the train (Krieg included) would become her best friends, much less be in her life for more than the duration of the train ride.

Then the LOADERs attacked. The stick person quickly disappeared and the roided-out ball of testosterone dived out of the car while the soldier threw his turret and sought cover. Who even knew where the teenager had disappeared to.

It seemed she was to deal with this alone - or at least that’s what she thought, till a rocket went flying past her, sending debris flying in her face. She snarled and ensnared the nearest robot in her phaselock, tossing it out the side. That seemed to be when the psycho and the ball of testosterone made their entrances. Two digistructed rifles were pulled, raining gunfire into the crowd of bots as the giant howled in… excitement? Running into the crowd of bots, she heard the man’s ecstatic screaming. “TRAIN WON’T STOP!”

And suddenly the teenager was at her side, firing an SMG and laughing almost as maniacally as the psycho.

Jeez, things really moved fast on Pandora.

Despite the six of them ending up face to face with enough explosives to level a skyscraper, they awoke in an arctic wasteland, relatively no worse for wear.

Despite her shock at almost being murdered by the man who had supposedly hired them, she found herself enjoying the expectant stares from her comrades. None of them were beneath her or above her. Even the Soldier and the Assassin seemed to be looking at her worriedly. As equals. The thought filled her with hope.

They were all in the same boat.

“I guess we follow the funny little robot.”

_

The campaign against Jack had lasted nearly a year; the cleanup afterwards had taken many, many more years. One thing she could count on as a constant was Krieg. He didn’t spend much time with the team, but she could always count on him. His refusal to bond with the rest of the team frustrated her, though. He obviously cared about them, so why did he refuse on letting them get close?

One day she made the mistake of grabbing his wrist after a meeting, trying to get him to stay behind. The giant man tensed up and turned to face her, and for one terrible second she thought she had screwed up. That he was going to kill her.

Then his bloodshot eye softened and his shoulders slumped, just like their first meeting. He gently wriggled out of her grasp and muttered two words before slinking off.

“Pecking order.”

_

The giant psycho’s disappearance caused a massive ripple in the team. They had searched for hours and hours and hours, looking for him before Maya had finally find a note.

My work is done.

I cannot stay.

Flying too close to the sun

Will mark the end of my days.

\--Krieg

Was this some sort of sick fucking joke? She had confronted Zer0, but the assassin seemed just as worried and concerned as she was.

It seemed he had left for his own sake. She didn’t know he could write so coherently, much less in a poetic manner.

Maya didn’t want to admit what his disappearance did to her. Perhaps she had taken his support for granted. She always used to seek out the man at the edge of Sanctuary. Knowing he was there if she failed always helped. He was a constant. But now he was gone and her confidence in her leadership crumbled. Had he left because of her? 

The guilt and sadness on Salvador’s face told her all she needed to know. Salvador knew where Krieg was. But before she could interrogate the man, he disappeared as well.

One by one the team had disbanded. Zer0 went to work for Atlas as a corporate assassin or some shit, Gaige was focusing on engineering, and Axton… who knew what the soldier was doing. Rumors were he was spotted out near the borderworlds, searching for Krieg. She wished she could join in the search.

A war was coming, and they needed him.


End file.
